| | | Calendar (Prices listed are for Pre-Registration)
July 18th: Battle Night (7pm-9pm $10/member $20/non)
July 26th: Buddy Night (6:30pm-8:30pm $10/member $20/non)
August 8th: Buddy Night (7pm-9pm $10/member $20/non)
August 16th: Family Fighting Night (7pm-9pm $10/member $20/non)
August 23rd: Battle Night (6:30pm-8:30pm $10/member $20/non)
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Greetings Friends...
Ghost Hunting: Friday July 18th at Battle Night from 7-9 pm
Ghosts are terrorizing the town! What are the citizens to do? Hire some ghost hunters, that's what! Ghouls, ghosts, and specters, they all need to be taken care of and only the best hunters will do. Will the hunters be able to vanquish the ghosts or will we be seeing a hoard of zombies taking over the world? $10/member for pre-registering at least 24 hours in advance. $20/member at the door. $20/non-member pre-register, $30 at the door.
Guard Up! will be open on Sundays from noon to 4pm starting July the 20th 2008.
We will begin by offering one ACE and one Points & Powers class taught by Chris Wiley. Call (781) 270-4800 to try out these classes for free for a limited time. We will also be available for Birthday parties and other events from noon to 4 pm.
The Guard Up Wizards and Warriors Summer Residential Camp is over for the 2008 season. (Summer Camps) If your adventurer was not able to save Sidleterra this year, than we have exciting news: The Wizards and Warriors heroes will be fighting monsters and saving those in need next year in 2009. Guard Up! will have 4 weeks for your adventurer to choose from: July 5 - July 17 and July 26 - August 7. You can select one week, two weeks back-to-back, or even all four weeks. Pre-register now and get a discount on tuition! It will be the most exciting adventure your warrior will ever have! Contact us today.
Guard Up! is currently working on a "Car pool" page on our website www.guardup.com This addition should be up and running by July 18, 2008 and will help make the commute and cost of gas prices easier on parents.
This week take 10% OFF your purchase of bows, crossbows and arrows.
Job Opening:
Course Instructor Guard Up! Family Swordsmanship is looking for energetic, goal-oriented, team players. Part time, entry-level position for candidate with a strong sense of teamwork and a responsible work ethic . Experience working with children required. No experience in swordsmanship necessary - we will train you. Weekends and reliable transportation required. Looking for a career oriented person only. Our company has a great deal of upward mobility for people who wish to pursue higher level career options. $10/hr to start plus quarterly profit sharing. No commissions. Must love families and kids. Call (781) 270-4800 for more information and fax resume to (781) 270-4811.
Please contact morgan@guardup.com if you are interested in any of these positions. All staff, performers and volunteers must submit to a Background Check. Thank you!
July 18th:
Battle Night
7PM-9PM
$10/member $20/non
July 26th:
Buddy Night
6:30PM-8:30PM
$10/member $20/non
Note: All fees for Guard Up events are the cost for pre-registration at least 24 hours in advance. At Door Registrations are more expensive and may not allow for entrance into the event if we are filled to capacity. As usual, pre-registrations are non-refundable (unless the event is cancelled) and may be made via credit card over the phone or by dropping off payment at least 24 hours in advance. This new process will help us make announcements for capped events when possible and create a waiting list. Please note that if you are on a waiting list we CANNOT guarantee access to an event. So pre-register as soon as possible by calling (781) 270-4800. Thank you!
Other important notices:.
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Parents, if you wish to pre-register your child for an event, please come in to the facility and process a registration. If you do not receive confirmation of registration, assume that you (or your child) is not registered. If you cannot come in to the facility, please call (781) 270-4800 and talk to Bob. He can take care of your registration over the phone and confirm your spot. All pre-registrations require pre-payment.
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Parents: Please do not drop your kids off more than 15 minutes before class. Our lounge is for parents who are waiting for their children who are in class. Students who are not preparing for the next class or in class will have their parents contacted to pick them up. Thank you for your help with this.
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We are now offering Monday AND Friday 12:30am Home School classes (Historical Weapons and some Strategy Games). Contact Guard Up to register.
See you all in class.
Sincerely,
Meghan Gardner
Bob McGrath
Morgan Kuberry
Lois McDonald
John Herring
Jeff DeBiase
David Lee
Josh Doremus
Gregory Berger
Ed Wang
David Martelli
Kingsley Onwukwe
Brandon Duggan
Chris Wiley
Matthew Ridge
Lisa Wagner
Adam Schumacher
Corey Philips
Alex Kuberry
Jackie Levesque
Call Us: (781) 270-4800
Around Guard Up!
Looking for Employment?
We are always looking for reliable individuals who wish to join our Instructor Training Program as well as school teachers, sports coaches or camp counselors who are available for summer time work as Adventure Assistants. We also have unpaid internships available for the following: Software Programmer (asp.net), Videographer (Digital) and Photographer (Digital). Interns need to have their own equipment. We do a CORI Background check and some training may be required. Please contact us if you are interested. Feel free to forward this on to anyone you know who might qualify and be interested. Thanks!
Fundraisers
Guard Up now offers exciting fundraisers for organizations like BoyScouts, Homeschool Groups, Sports Teams, and whomever else wants to raise money with a fun event. If you belong to such a group, or know someone who does, then let us know and we'll see what we can do to help out. For more information, contact us or call (781) 270-4800.
Bringing a Friend?
Parents: Please remember that if you bring any children to a Guard Up event that are not your own, they must have a signed waiver from their parents to attend.
Snow and Emergency Weather Days
Guard Up is closed on any day that the Burlington Public School system is closed due to inclement weather. Saturdays are based on local Weather Advisories. We will announce the closing of Guard Up via this update, post in on our website main page (at bottom of page under "Coming Up at Guard Up") and on our answering system. Please be sure to check one of these postings before making the commute to class when weather is rough.
Junior Instructor Training Program
If you are and adult or at least 13 years of age and have significant experience in the course you wish to teach, please talk to your instructor. Students who are 13 may enter the Junior Instructor Training Program. You will be assigned at least one class a week in which you will be an assistant. Your duties include being available for the instructor if he/she needs to demonstrate techniques, buddying up with new students and helping them feel welcome, putting away equipment and keeping storage rooms neat, and calling any unsafe or disruptive behavior to the attention of the instructor. You may also be invited to assist at summer camps and special events and receive a discounted rate to those events.
It takes a great deal of time, effort and commitment to achieve the position of instructor. If you think that this is something you would like to pursue contact us or talk to your instructor about the possibility of admittance into the Junior Instructor Training Program.
Capped Classes
The following classes are filled to capacity or will be soon and are not accepting visitors any longer. So if you have attended the following classes as a visitor and wish to continue attending, please contact us or call (781) 270-4800 to add the class for just $5/class/week. In addition to guaranteed access, you also get Skill Assessments from the instructor for that class... which can help you to assess the progress of your training. Parents, if your child is not Homed in the below classes, please don't drop them off for the class or you will be called to pick them up.
Classes nearing capacity and limited to only a few visitors (call before visiting to see if there is room):
T1 Youth ACE Adventures (ages 6-10) Friday 3:30pm
T1 Youth ACE Adventures (6-10) Thursday 5:00pm
T1 Youth Fencing (Mixed Ages) Saturday 11:30am
T1 Youth Fencing (Mixed Ages) Saturday 4:00pm
T2 Teen Mixed Martial Arts Wednesday 7:00pm
Classes that are now filled to capacity and are CLOSED to visitors:
T1 Youth ACE Adventures Friday 4:30pm: FILLED - no more Home Class spots available
T1 Teen Martial Arts Wednesday (ages 12+) 6:00pm: only 1 more Home Class spot available
T1 Youth ACE Adventures (Mixed Ages) Saturday 2:30pm: 1 more Home Class spot available
T2 Youth Fencing Saturday 12:30pm: FILLED - no more Home Class spots available
Class Schedule
There is a class schedule (also available as an htm file). This schedule has the Tier 1 and Tier 2 classes. We have a flyer explaining the details for how the Tier 2 Membership works. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact us.
Membership Note
Just as a reminder... if you attend other classes outside of your Home Classes, you are essentially a "guest" to these other classes. These classes can be moved, changed, or consolidated at any time. Classes will be consolidated if, after sufficient time, there are not enough students who wish to designate it as their Home Class. However, adding another Tier 1 Home Class to your membership is very easy and exceptionally affordable (less than $5/week). Just call (781) 270-4800 to add the class.
Summer Adventures
Summer Sword
Adventures are where kids spend a week learning medieval sword fighting,
battling monsters in great adventures, being heroes, making armor and much more!. We have 7 weeks of camps
for ages 6-10 and 11-15. The camps run from 9am (with drop off as early as
8:15am) to 3pm (with extended day options to 6pm). We have sibling discounts as well. Call (781) 270-4800 to sign up before the discount ends!
Vote for Guard Up as Boston's Best
To vote for us as a Boston's Best for Entertainment & Leisure (they don't have a Sports & Recreation category) at http://www.bostonmagazine.com/best_of/ (enter "Guard Up! Family Swordsmanship" in the Nomination field). Thank you for your vote!
Member Resources
Parents of youth students can take an active part in their child's training by getting their kids to talk about their training experience. If you would like suggestions on how to start a conversation... or on how you can help your child's instructor succeed with your child's training... or a even a sample agreement to help your child or teen make a commitment to you regarding their classes... we have some Resources you may find useful.
FREE Demonstrations for Your School!
If you (or your child) is attending a local school (Burlington, Bedford, Lexington, Winchester, or Woburn), and you are interested in having a free demonstration at your school in fencing or swordsmanship, let us know! With the teacher's permission, we can send an instructor out to the local schools to do a quick (or elaborate) demo/tutorial. We've even had our members participate in the demo in front of their school classmates. You can either have your teacher contact us, or give us the contact information for your teacher and we will set up the time and day.
Private Lessons
Miss too many classes and feeling behind? Want to work a specific technique and get immediate feedback? Many of the Guard Up instructors are available for private lessons. Private Lessons are a great way to improve your skills, overcome challenges you are having, or receive more training in higher level techniques. You can take lessons from your own instructor or a different instructor. Purchase a package of multiple lessons for a discounted rate. If you are interested in a package of private lesson, contact us or call (781) 270-4800 today.
Scan In!
Please remember to scan your member card into the attendance computer before you go to class. If you forget, your account will be flagged after 16 days as "absent" and you will receive a phone call. If you prefer, you can also memorize your 3 digit number and just punch that into the keyboard instead of searching for your card. The attendance program helps us keep track of a class's popularity and plan for additional class offerings based on schedule needs. Your help is appreciated.
Bring a friend to class!
Please continue to spread the word about our classes to your friends and acquaintances. Your referrals are our number one source of new members! With your assistance, we can lock the membership rates in at their current value for yet another year... even with the increase in heating costs and town taxes (which have more than doubled). As well, more members allow us to offer more of your favorite classes and experiment with new courses. So please consider bringing a friend to class this week and introducing him or her to a mentally engaging activity that will improve physical fitness and keep you sharp! (No pun intended). If you refer a new member (who remains active for at least 60 days), you will receive a $20 gift certificate as our way of saying "Thank You".
Share your passion. Trust us... it is unique and contagious!
Required Training Wear and Protective Equipment
Guard Up will endeavor to provide Training Equipment necessary for classes. However, some Personal Protective Equipment must be provided by students to participate in class. Also, ALL classes require ankle-length pants or sweat pants and t-shirts. No shorts, tank tops or other sleeveless shirts. As well, shirts and pants must cover your belly and cannot have inappropriate words or images. Our facility is air conditioned in the summer time, so students can wear proper training clothing. Any class that involves hand-to-hand sparring/drills/wrestling or takedowns require mouthguards and supporters/cups which the student must provide. Classes involving fencing with non-action flex weapons require chest protectors for women/girls and cups for men/boys. Some instructors may even require cups for men/boys in action flex weapon classes. As well, Indoor Only Footwear with Light Colored Soles are required in all Fencing classes.
New Residential Summer Camp!
This summer, Guard Up is running a residential summer camp for ages 10+. This camp is located in central Massachusetts, near Worcester. It will run from Sunday night until Friday afternoon with all meals provided. This camp
is at a replica of a small Medieval Village and involves 5 days and nights of swordfighting and roleplaying adventure. Campers
play a character of their own design, take part in various plots that require problem solving and teamwork, take classes to improve their weapons skills, tell stories in an authentic tavern about their adventures, and fight monsters who seek to invade their town. Costuming is required and some limited items will be available for purchase or you can provide your own. If this sounds of interest to you, please contact us.
Holidays
Guard Up is closed the following holidays: Memorial Week (Last Monday in May and the following week), Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas/New Years Week (December 24-January 1).
New College Memberships
We have new options available for current students who are leaving for College. Talk to customer service about our different pricing plans. We look forward to seeing our current students heading off to college during their breaks!
Class Updates
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Premium Classes
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Class Announcements:
T1 Youth/Teen Fencing
John Herring, Gregory Berger, and Lois McDonald
Month 3 Mostly Footwork
We have had quite a few new members and others who are thinking of moving on to T2.
Welcome and congratulations all around.
Week 1: Advance lunge, with beat, with feint
Week 2: Parry with distance
Week 3: varying the footwork
Week 4: Lunge, recover forward, redouble
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T1 Adult Fencing
Lois McDonald
Month 3 Mostly Footwork
We have had quite a few new members and others who have moved on to T2.
Welcome and congratulations all around.
Week 1: Advance lunge, with beat, with feint
Week 2: Parry with distance
Week 3: varying the footwork
Week 4: Lunge, recover forward, redouble
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T2 Fencing
Gregory Berger, John Herring, and Lois McDonald
Congratulations to all who participated in the Pomme de Terre.
Nathan Fudenberg and Lois earned medals in the unclassified foil and epee,
Paul Silvas made it into the top half in his first tournament, Vick Kikuchi and Travis Law
also acquitted themselves admirably, and Dan Jamison made it into the DE’s in the
Open Foil.
The T2 classes will be aiming at more tournaments this summer, enjoying the chance to meet
and fence people outside our club.
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T1 Teen Mixed Martial Arts
Meghan Gardner
For the month of July I plan to reinforce and reintroduce the basic fundamental concepts
of kick boxing. This will include proper footwork and posture, effective boxing techniques,
effective kicking techniques, general evasive maneuvers, and a few
conceptual concepts of sparring. The techniques will be practiced in the air,
and on pads held by the students. The proper technique of pad holding will also be
a significant portion of each class, to assure the highest amount of safety. With
safety in mind, there will be no contact sparring in the tier 1 mma class.
And of course, lots of games, lots of cheering, and lots of fun.
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T1 Adult Japanese Sword
Sempai Jeff DeBiase
Hey folks, last month we spent some time going over fighting concepts like knowing when and how to look for an opening and the importance of maintaining a strong guard.
When sparring, there are times when an opponent will intentionally knock away at your guard to see what kind of reaction he can get out of you. A very common occurence for beginners is to immediately raise their hands in a protective position when someone "rattles" their guard by striking at their shinai. A more experienced person would love for you to do this because raising your hands opens up your Kote or Do. So my best advice is to maintain good distance and whenever someone beats at your shinai, immediately return to guard (chudan no kamae). If you do this and maintain proper distance you can almost nullify any negative effect that might occur as a result of having your shinai struck.
Beating at one's guard is a way to create an opening, but against a more experienced player it may not accomplish much. Katsugi is another technique for creating an opening. Katsugi Kote involves suddenly throwing your shinai back over your left shoulder. The sudden movement often times cuases the opponent to react by lifting his hands to defent the incoming attack. Then you strike at his exposed kote. To beat this, I've been drilling you on attacking first. This means that as soon as you see the opponent lift their hands to trick you, you should spring forward and strike men. Remember, always be going forward.
Kudos to Kelly, Arlin, and Kenny for ordering their bogu!!!! I look forward to more bogu players in class. See you then.
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T1 Adult Historical Weapons
Morgan Kuberry
Hello!
This month we've begun combining all the forms we've learned into a cohesive system.
Spear vs. sword and buckler has started us off, we'll be adding longsword and trying out
possible combinations of weapons from there. Throughout the classes wrestling is
considered a part of each weapon. Our source material clearly encourages this
approach of joining unarmed and armed combat into one fluid system of defense. Next
we'll be considering medieval practical self defense: the disarms, binds and other
non lethal options that we can extrapolate from medieval sources. This applies to self
defense and the very real medieval need to avoid starting feuds and manslaughter
charges, as well as exploring a mode of warfare which prized live prisoners taken
for ransom.
See you in class!
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T1 Little Knights
Lois McDonald
Orlando, Nathan and Max have come a long ways. Orlando and Nathan have made
Squire and Max is working towards it.
Tristan is working very hard to be brave enough to join us.
Week 1 We will play water and sand
Week 2 We will play White Witch
Week 3 We will work on fighting with sword and shield
Week 4 We will work on teamwork
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T1 A.C.E. Adventures
Game Master David Lee and Lois McDonald
Summer is here and school is out! There's no better time to come to class and sword fight. Summer is that time of the year when you get to go outside, run around, and be active. Who knows, you just might get a tan... or have a fun time!
Also, if it's a nice day outside, and it's not too hot, we might have class outside. Fresh air and getting a chance to fight on uneven terrain. Get ready for a summer adventure!
Week 1: Fantasy Fighting II
Week 2: Monster Arena and Monkey Knife Fight
Week 3: Tale of Two Castles and Emperor
Week 4: Pirates vs Swashbucklers and Battle for the Games
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T1 Sport Weapon
Ed Wang
My wife is due to give birth to our first son in June, so I will be taking some time off. In the meantime, Josh will cover my class, using his experience in Japanese sword to add new techniques to the Sport Weapon curriculum. He has a lot to contribute, so I hope that you guys will have lots of new tricks when I come back. May 1 - Ground Fighting / May 8 - Game Night / May 15 - Performance Reviews for Students / May 22 - Transition to Josh
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T2 Tournament Fencing
Gregory Berger
Tournament Fencing Curriculum Update
July 2008
Goal for the Month
• Continue to work on the attacks with second intention
• Continue to work on distance with some students
• Continue to work with students to overcome fear of the attack
• Free fencing as much as possible
• Take part in the Bay State Games
Footwork-Duration
1. Advance and double advance
2. Advance lunge with recovery forward
3. Advance lunge with recovery back
4. Jump Lunge and incorporation of jump-lunge into distance exercises
5. Continue to stress importance of movement on the strip
6. Continue to work on the ½ lunge attack preparation with change over.
Blade work
1. In place -> Parry 4, 6, 7, 8 (make sure students have control of the distance)
2. In place -> Parry circular 4, 6 (make sure students have control of the distance)
3. The same exercises in movement with one student making an advance
4. Introduction of the Parry 1 with and with out foot work.
ATTACK
1. Straight Attack -> Engagement in 4, 6, 7, 8 advances and retreats are at will. Make sure to keep proper distance. Make touch when line is open by one of the students. After completion reverse sides
2. Disengage Attack -> Engagement in 4, 6, 7, 8 advances and retreats are at will. Make sure to keep proper distance. Make touch when blade is offered by disengaging. After completion reverse sides. Continue the same with out the engagement of the blades. Perform disengage when blade is offered by an opponent and make the touch. Change sides.
3. Perform the same on any forward step
4. Perform the same on any number of steps.
5. Incorporate step #6 from Footwork section.
BEAT ATTACK
1. Student 1 and 2 position in 4,6,7, 8 without engagement. Student advance and retreat at will. Student 1 will stop and offer blade in 4,6,7,or 8 and student 2 completing an attach with a beat in 4,6,7, or 8 based where blade has been presented. Change sides and repeat
2. Students will perform the same on any forward step or on the agreed number of steps when blade is presented.
(Return to Class Menu)
T2 Points & Powers
John Herring
Points and Powers has become less a place simply for complex impromptu interactivity and more a place for
learning in a very basic way that there are real consequences for our actions.
Special thanks to Matt Alberghini for stepping in to support me in non-player roles, and to Jacob Shade for the same.
You absolutely MADE the last phases of the adventure.
(BUT WE STILL NEED NPC's!!! The meek need not apply.)
This next adventure will be from the Elf perspective. There are cultural differences between Yruk, Human, and Elf.
These differences will need special attention in the next month, as the characters will have to interface with
all the main races, as well as others yet undiscovered.
DIPLOMACY, ETIQUETTE, MERCY, PERSEVERANCE, HUMILITY, AND PERSPICACITY!!
Our group of Elves has come upon a seeming injustice. An Elf of once high standing has been cast out of his society.
He has special knowledge needed by the group, and by ALL of their people, but it is illegal to talk to him. What to do?
Time for hard choices. Or... Not so hard?
We will try to finish the current adventure before then. Whether we do that or not depends entirely upon the actions of
this group of players. We have no shortage of good ideas and willingness to play deep characters.
However, things that we need more than any others are clear senses of COMMON PURPOSE and COHESION.
Without these two things, we will not finish the current adventure at all. This class of players has demonstrated
a strong ability to pull together at times of dire need. Now, they must do so in a time of relative uncertainty.
Not an easy task, though it might seem so.
All of you know by now that I will leave Guard Up in June. Also not an easy assignment. Before I go, I want all of you
to know that you have helped me to grow in small ways that I had not anticipated. Thank you. Wherever I go, whatever
I do, it all will be affected by what you have taught me about myself and about people in general.
From the bottom of my heart, Spank you- er, I mean, Thank You All!
- John
(Return to Class Menu)
T2 Youth Kendo
Joshua Doremus
Hello members of Youth Kendo! Because the Bogu has been ordered, I'm going to continue to step up our training. This month I'm going to reintroduce a few of my favorite drills, and introduce some new ones. One that I would like to introduce is kirikaeshi which is a wonderful drill that will polish your distancing and your coordination. Then when the bogu finally gets here, we'll be able to cotinue those drills at a whole new level. Look forward to a bright future in the Kendo program!
(Return to Class Menu)
T2 Youth/Teen Japanese Sword
Sempai Joshua Doremus
Konnichiwa mina san! Over the summer we have spent A LOT of time listening to me talk and doing lots of drills. We have worked on basic attacks, defenses, movement, and touched on strategy. Now it's time to take the class to a whole new exciting level! This month we will be focusing on making everybodies individual sparring technique much better. I will be working with each of you on an individual basis on your issues with sparring to make you an elite samurai warrior. Kudos to John who has been such a trooper and showing up to all my classes, sometimes even when nobody else did. John your integrity and dedication should serve as an example to all kendoka. Specifically things that will be discussed this month are combination attacks and sparring/tournament strategy. In essence how can I make attacks to create openings, and how can I turn my opponent's weaknesses into my advantages? Look foward to that and some more in depth training in nito ryu, Musashi's famous two sword style! See you in Class!
(Return to Class Menu)
T1 Youth Fencing Musketeers
John Herring
I'm sad to say, this current curriculum might never get put in place. The attendance of Musketeers is not what it once was, and therefore no longer covers the cost to the facility of running the class. We might need to cancel this class, for now. If ever there are enough youngsters moving from Little Knights into Youth Fencing, who need more preparation for the very different kind of class that Youth Fencing is, then we might want to start up the Musketeers again.
I want to say thanks to my regular students - Max Malamut and Lucien Thomas-Vickory - who showed up every Saturday, rain or shine, to sharpen the already great skills they have, and to have fun with me. Thank You! And to Ricky Healey and Hector Killick, a special Thank You! for making my class more fun and helping to make Max and Lucien
so much better.
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T2 Youth Historical Weapons
Josh Doremus
Greetings fellow warriors! For the past couple of months we have been studying half sword, and German sword wrestling or Ringen am Schwert. We've worked with blade and body manipulation, footwork, as well as a little strategy. Continuing with that theme, we are going to be discussing more close range combat techniques with the sword. Unfortunately we're short on German Longswords because res camps are using them, so we'll make do until we get them back. So for now we will work with principles of wrestling in general: off balancing, stance, and more body manipulation. See you in class!
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T2 Teen Mixed Martial Arts
Meghan Gardner
For the month of July I plan to help the students improve on there fundamental stand up
skills, mainly in the area of proper boxing and kick boxing techniques, stressing
defensive concepts and proper technique. Every student in the t2 mma class has the
ability to turn on there fighting spirit, my intention is to help them fine tune it
to be most effective if they would ever need to defend themselves in a serious
situation. Also, in push towards students who can motivate themselves and answer
there own questions themselves, I will leave much room for experimentation with technique
as long as it is safe. As always it will be exciting, challenging, and of course fun.
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T1 Youth Historical Weapons
John Herring
Our focus has shifted to the latest renaissance era, and the upper crust and elite of societies. To show the world just who
they were, these men (exclusively men!) carried their social positions and weapons with great pride and sometimes
hubris. So, they held the notion that their pride, wealth, reputations and personal security must be protected at all
times, ands at all costs. And rightly so. A successful thief could get a week's money from selling a stolen pair of well-made
shoes. The shoes of a highly-stationed nobleman might bring money for a month or more. The victim's clothing would sell for
two to ten times as much. And their jewelry would be worth even more! If they were carrying actual money, that would be
icing on the cake, to a thief. However, an attack upon a man's character could ruin his business, his patronage, or his
social station. So we have swords!
Personal protection was either worn at the hip, carried in the hand, or walked in flanking positions, if one was rich
enough to afford to pay for bodyguards. The personal weapon of the nobleman had undergone a shift in weight from
heavy to light over the 14th through 17th centuries. In social context of courts, universities and cities, there was no
need for armor, so a light weapon would work better than a heavier one in a sudden armed conflict. Shields also
were impractical to wear on a daily basis, so that element of extra protection became incorporated into the weapon
itself. Thus, the rapier came to be the personal weapon of choice for almost all fashionable gentlemen of the late
renaissance period.
In revisiting that weapon of choice, we have discussed and practiced uses of the naked rapier, the hand parry, and
off-hand weapon use. Our next area of focus will be creating practical actions that would have been practiced by someone
who had an eye on dueling. We will be matching these styles against each other, and against other kinds of
bladed weapons.
Next, let me congratulate our friend, Rachel Skorupka. She has passed many assessments for various weapon styles and,
more importantly, has passed many assessments of personal character. As a result, she has my recommendation for Guard Up's
Tier 2 Youth Historical Weapons program, and is being seriously considered for early access to the Adult Historical Weapons program,
as well. We will still see Rachel in the Tier 1 YHW classes, I'm sure. I hope!
I want to say that the pleasure of teaching these Historical Weapons classes has been all mine, but I know that is not the case.
Many of you have come to me with such genuine words of thanks that I hardly know how to respond, except to return those
thanks back to you, from my heart. Wherever I go, know that you all will go with me, and that will keep me humble and happy.
Week of June 2: Review of parry styles and riposte
Week of June 9: Review and assess footwork and guards
Week of June 16: Compound actions/attacks
Week of June 23: Tournament rule bouts!!
Week of June 30: Compare styles and weapon choices in practical, impromptu bouts. End of Rapier curriculum.
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